quarta-feira, 16 de abril de 2014

Three members of Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV were killed

Three crew members of Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station were killed Monday
after they came under fire in the Syrian town of Maaloula, as
politicians offered condolences and praised those killed as "martyrs."

Al-Manar
identified the men as reporter Hamzah Hajj Hasan, 29, technician Halim
Allaw and cameraman Mohammad Mantash. Several other crew members were
wounded, the station said.

With a shaky voice, a teary-eyed
anchorwoman announced the death of Hajj Hasan and Allaw, saying "takfiri
terrorists" killed the men while they were covering the Syrian army
takeover of Maaloula, a predominantly Christian town not far from the
Lebanese border.

The station also broadcast footage of the
bullet-riddled four-wheel-drive vehicle the three men were traveling in
when the attack took place. The vehicle was marked press.

Offering condolences to their families, Al-Manar described the men as "martyrs of freedom."

Minutes later, the station announced that Mantash had died of wounds sustained during the attack.

The
Hezbollah TV channel reported earlier in the day that its crew had come
under fire. "The Al-Manar team was shot at by armed groups when [they]
were covering the Syrian army's takeover of the Maaloula town in
Qalamoun," the report said.

The shooting came hours after
Hezbollah-backed Syrian forces recaptured at least three border towns
including Maaloula, in Qalamoun, a mountainous region bordering Lebanon.

Al-Manar
television has provided extensive coverage of the battles in the area
in recent months, even accompanying and interviewing Syrian soldiers as
the country's army launched an offensive to root out rebel groups.

Hasan
Hamzah, Hajj Hasan's colleague at Al-Manar, said he would miss him the
most, as the two were very close to each other. "We sat next to each
other in the newsroom and shared lots of things, we used the same
telephone ... and we shared the same lockers," Hamzah told sadly. "Just
today, I wore his shirt and I am still wearing it right now."

Hamzah
said that Hajj Hasan knew he was heading to dangerous places. "He was
perseverant and knew what he wanted. His life has ended today ... his
death is a loss, but he is one of a series of Al-Manar martyrs, I
congratulate him," Hamzah added.

Al-Manar General Manager Ibrahim
Farhat said a remaining group of gunmen had hidden in Maaloula and shot
at Al-Manar's two vehicles, which he said were among other media
outlets covering ground developments.

During a brief televised
news conference, Farhat declined to say whether Al-Manar was a target.
"We will not hesitate to offer martyrs for the sake of the profession
... they were carrying out their professional duty in covering events,"
he said.

Farhat also said that the bodies of the men were pulled from the scene and that they would be buried Tuesday in Lebanon.

Lebanese officials condemned the killing.

"The assassination of members of media is a coward act," President Michel Sleiman tweeted.

Free
Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun extended his condolences to
Al-Manar. "We are all blessed by the martyrdom of the martyrs ... and we
share the pains of their families," Aoun said.